


Up All Night

by MurkyMuse



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 06:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7034491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurkyMuse/pseuds/MurkyMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I hadn’t thought about it that way.”</p>
<p>“Because you try to take on everything by yourself.”</p>
<p>“Your guilt about being a jerk didn’t last long.”</p>
<p>“Just calling it how I see it.”</p>
<p>“Then I’m calling you a hypocrite. When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”</p>
<p>(Or during the infirmary stay, Nico and Will learn to meet in the middle.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up All Night

**Author's Note:**

> Title blatantly taken from the Owl City song because it’s pretty much my ship song for Solangelo.

Will glanced at Nico as they walked toward the infirmary. The son of Hades looked better than during the battle. Instead of being a translucent half-corpse, he only looked malnourished and exhausted and semitransparent when the light hit him at just the right angle.

It was sad to say that was an improvement.

They reached the door of the infirmary. Nico paused at the threshold, a tight frown on his face as he glanced around at the filled beds. Curtains separated the beds to give them some semblance of privacy, though most were pushed open at the moment.

“Come on. You promised three days, Death boy.”

Nico reluctantly stepped inside. Will guided him to one of the few free cots, towards the back of the room but next to a window.

“I’m going to clean that injury on your arm”, Will said when they’d settled, “Any other wounds you’re hiding?”

Nico shook his head. Will frowned. The son of Hades had been more talkative during the fight and even just a few minutes ago but now he was like a shut clam.

“Alright. Shirt off.”

Nico blushed.

Will raised an eyebrow. “There’s no such thing as modesty in a hospital.”

“Since when is this a hospital”, he muttered before complying.

“It is a place of healing so close enough.”

Nico rolled his eyes, while Will got to work unwrapping the old bandages on his arm. The skin around the scratches was puffy and discolored. The stitches were an amateur’s rush work. Will was almost tempted to say something about that but he was also pretty sure he knew who patched Nico up. He had a host of reasons to not want to offend the Roman leader.  

“How did you end up with werewolf scratches?”

“Fought Lycaon in Portugal.”

Will stared at him. He knew Nico was powerful. He’d seen the son of Hades in action during the Titan War and just a few days ago. However, the casual way Nico said that – like fighting the first werewolf was a minor footnote – was just-just wow.

“Solace?”

“Um, right.” It was Will’s turn to blush. “I’ll need to re-do these stitches too.”

Professional, Will reminded himself, that’s what he needed to be. Nico barely even winced as Will cleaned and re-stitched the wounds but he had to be in pain. Werewolf scratches were infamous for their burning pain. Will spread ointment on the son of Hades’ arm before wrapping it back up in fresh bandages.

Once Will finished, he stood up. “Try to rest. You look like you haven’t slept in days. I’ll bring you breakfast in a bit.”

* * *

Nico stabbed at his now cold scrambled eggs. He’d managed to eat the toast and maybe a third of the eggs. Nico didn’t really want anymore but Will gave him this Look every time he passed by.

An Ares kid (Elliot? Emmet? something with an E) in the cot across from him kept glaring whenever he thought Nico wouldn’t notice. Nico ignored it and forced himself to take another bite of eggs.

“I was told you kidnapped my brother.”

Hazel’s voice made Nico look up. His sister was talking to Will at door.

“It’s not kidnapping if he agreed. Which he did.” Will pointed. “He’s over there.”

As Hazel walked towards him, a small smile formed on Nico’s face.

“Sorry, you were still asleep when I left. I didn’t know that _someone_ would order me on bedrest for three days.”

Hazel laughed a little as she sat down on the edge of the cot.

Across from them, E-something muttered under his breath, “Great. Now there’s two.”

The warm sparkle in Hazel’s eyes dimmed. Nico turned a cold glare at the Ares boy. He could whisper and stare at Nico all he wanted but Hazel did not deserve that.

The boy paled slightly and rolled over on his side.

“I’m glad you’re getting rest. You need that”, Hazel whispered, “But are you okay here?”

Nico glanced at Will. The son of Apollo was sorting through supplies that one of his siblings just brought in.  

_“You have friends – or at least people who would like to be your friend.”_

Nico thought of Reyna hugging him in front of everyone, how Jason sought him out earlier, the high-five he’d shared with Annabeth, and Will calling his face friendly of all things. He grabbed Hazel’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” She kissed his cheek. “I should get going. We’ll be leaving soon.”

* * *

Will made it a point to keep an eye on the son of Hades while he did his work. He was pleased at how many visitors Nico had over the day. Not long after his half-sister left, the Roman praetor came in to say quick but oddly sweet goodbye to Nico.

Jason found his way into the infirmary around lunch time. He helped convince Nico that yes he needed to eat all his food. Will made a mental note that Jason would be a great ally in the mission to get Nico healthy.  

Then a couple hours later Percy and Annabeth dropped by with a few books courtesy of the daughter of Athena. The three talked for a while before Percy started getting loud.

“Nico, why won’t you tell me? Is it blonds? I bet its blonds.”

“Leave him alone about that. And be quiet, Seaweed Brian. People are trying to sleep.” Annabeth grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and yanked him towards the door. “See you, Nico.”

She smiled apolitically as they walked by Will and Kayla. “Sorry about this idiot.”

Once they’d left, Will walked over to the son of Hades.

“So what was that about blonds?”

Nico groaned and hid his face in his hands.

Will decided to drop that curiosity. There was something more important to discuss.

“Nico, you’ve been here all day and you haven’t slept.”

“I’ve had visitors.”

“No one stayed more than thirty minutes and you had hours in between to nap. Lay down and try to sleep until dinner. Doctor’s orders.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

“You sound like a little kid.” Will shook his head. “If you don’t sleep, I’ll get Clovis in here after dinner.”

Nico glared at him. Will stared back. Nico huffed and fell backwards onto the cot.

“I’ll try.”

Will’s lips twitched. The great Ghost King could be so adorable.

“Good.”

Will did a round to check on everyone else. Elias was sullen and tried to argue that he was fit to leave; Ares kids were always annoying like that. One of the Hermes kids stole his stethoscope. Will didn’t notice until he went to check the next patient’s vitals. Butch was discharged with orders to take it easy so the wound wouldn’t reopen.  

When he was done, Kayla all but physically pushed him out the door.

“You’ve been in here all day. Get some fresh air. Eat dinner. No one is critical. We can handle things without you for a few hours.”

* * *

Nico tossed and turned trying to fall asleep. He was tired but not so tired that his brain would just shut down.

“Is it a good idea to have _him_ here?”

Nico didn’t recognize the girl’s voice. He assumed she was visiting someone.

“Shhh. He’ll hear you.”

He blocked out the whispers and rolled over again with eyes squeezed shut.

And then he fell into Tartarus.

* * *

Will walked back to the infirmary feeling full and rested. However, his good mood was ruined before he even opened the door. The voice of Drew Tanaka, who had to be visiting her friend, drifted out onto the porch.

“Does he really need to be here? He has that creepy death aura and it can’t be good for-”

Austin was about to reply but Will stepped in first.

“Nico needs to be here as much as everyone else. You, however, do not.”

Drew practically wilted under his glare. He held the door open for her as she slinked out of the building. Guilt settled in the pit of his stomach like a bile weight.

_“It’s none of your business, but I don’t belong. That’s obvious. No one wants me. I’m a child of-”_

Will had brushed Nico’s concerns off. Sure, he knew some campers found Nico’s powers unsettling but he’d never even noticed that there were people who so blatantly didn’t want Nico around. How had he never noticed?

“Please tell me Nico is asleep and didn’t have to hear that.”

“I think so”, Austin replied.

Will walked over to Nico’s cot, pushing through the closed curtains. The son of Hades was asleep. However, it was obvious at a glance that it was not a peaceful sleep. Nico’s face contorted into a grimace. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He let out low, pained whimper.

Will’s heart twisted. Nightmares would not help the healing process. He reached out to shake Nico awake but his hand passed through Nico’s shoulder. Will yanked his hand away and stared at Nico. The son of Hades was flickering from solid to translucent as the shadows in the room unnaturally bent towards him.

Will cursed as his brain spun out ideas on how to stop the relapse.

“Austin! Get a sun lamp!”

Will tried to catch Nico’s hand. This time he didn’t pass through like Nico was a ghost. However, while Nico’s hand was stabilized by physical contact, the rest of his body kept fading in and out.

Austin came running back in with one of the sun lamps from their cabin (long story short: many of Apollo’s children did not take the shortened days of winter well). Will let go of Nico’s hand to help set it up.

Warm light soon poured onto Nico. The shadows retreated. Instead of flickering back and forth, Nico seemed to settle into a mostly solid state. Will shook his shoulder.

“Nico. I know I told you to sleep but you should wake up now.”

The son of Hades was still but for the rise and fall of his chest.

“He’s stuck.”

Will turned to see Clovis walking to them. The son of Hypnos yawned. Will had to resist following suit.

“Stuck?”

“Nico tried to dream travel but got stuck in between. He’s usually good at dream traveling, the best outside of Hypnos Cabin. But…”

It took Will a moment to realize Clovis had nodded off while standing. He guided Clovis into the chair next to Nico’s cot and then went to check on the other patients. The son of Hypnos had helped out in the infirmary before, usually by putting resisting patients to sleep or by helping patients with nightmares. Will trusted him to help Nico with the dream stuff.

Plus Will had a lot to think about.

* * *

Nico knew he’d messed up. He’d started dreaming of Tartarus and panicked trying to escape the nightmare. Only to end up in black nothingness that reminded him too much of the shadows that had nearly consumed him. It was like trading one nightmare for another. He tried to force his way out but he was just so…exhausted. Even dreaming, he couldn’t find any strength. It felt like he’d just fade away here, trapped in the darkness of dreams.

Then a familiar sleepy voice called out, “Nico, there you are.”

“Clovis?”

The son of Hypnos suddenly appeared, flickering into existence in front of him.

“How did you…?”

Clovis shrugged, “Our dreams have crossed enough that I could tell something was wrong. I’m going to wake you up.”

“Thanks.”

Clovis floated to his side and then literally shoved him-

-Nico yelped as the room spun and the hardwood floor came rushing toward him.

Hands caught him before he hit the ground, electricity and warmth shooting across his skin. Nico looked up to meet very blue eyes. Like summer sky blue that he could stare at for hours.

“You okay, Death boy?”

Nico suddenly became very aware that he was practically sprawled against Will. He scrambled back so fast that he lost his balance. Will reached out again, hands steady on Nico’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch me!” Nico snapped as he yanked away like the son of Apollo had burned him.

Will held up his hands. “Sorry. I was just trying to keep you from hitting your head and getting a concussion.”  

Nico sat back down on the edge of his cot.

Clovis was snoring in the chair. Nico wondered why the son of Hypnos had bothered coming all the way to the infirmary when he probably could have helped Nico from his cabin. There was also a lamp shining next to him that wasn’t there before. It was annoyingly bright but Nico couldn’t find the motivation to switch it off. He wasn’t sure if Will would even let him.

Will stood there for a tense moment before clearing his throat. “When I said no Underworld-y stuff, I meant it.”

“I didn’t think that included dream travel.”

“You almost faded, Nico. Don’t do it again.”

The plea in Will’s voice caught Nico off guard.

“…Okay.”  

“Good. I’m going to have Clovis put you back to sleep because you really do need it. But you’re going to be monitored so that if you do start turning into a puddle of shadows again, we’ll be able to intervene quickly.”

Nico scowled. “Can’t I just read a book?”

“Nope.” The expression of Will’s face softened. “Clovis is good at making sure my patients have dreamless sleep.”

Nico glanced away. Was the reason for his lack of sleep that obvious?

“Fine.”

* * *

Will spent the entire night in the infirmary despite that it went against the shift schedule. He checked on Nico often. As much of a relief it was to see the son of Hades sleeping peacefully, it also made guilt press heavy on Will’s mind.

He’d taken Nico wanting to leave camp personally, selfishly. He’d been so wrapped up in his own feelings that he’d failed to take Nico’s into account. Some friend he was.

Will’s siblings finally pushed him out around dusk so he could get a few hours of rest. He slept fitfully until mid-morning before giving up on resting. He opted for a shower and change of clothes. Then he sought out Lou Ellen and Cecil.

He found them down by the lake, skipping rocks in the direction of a canoeing couple. Lou Ellen noticed him first and grimaced when she saw his face.

“Did someone die?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you look like you’re blaming yourself for something.”

“No one died.” Will sank to the ground. “I just realized I’m an insensitive jerk.”

They exchanged glances before sitting down with him. Lou Ellen sat down on one side, while Cecil sat on the other.

“Spill it.”

“Remember when I went off on Nico about how he was the one pushing people away.”

Lou Ellen frowned. “Let me guess. You overhead someone talking about him?”

Will nodded. “They were complaining about him being in the infirmary because of his death aura.”

“In your defense”, Cecil said, “You didn’t know because no one says anything bad about him when you’re around.”

“Yeah”, Lou Ellen continued, “Whenever Nico comes up, you just gush on and on about how great and brave he was in the Titan War.”

“I don’t gush.”

They both gave him pointed looks.

“Yeah, you do.”

“You don’t give anyone the chance to talk bad about him.”

Did people really avoid saying cruel things about Nico around him? That didn’t make much sense to Will. But…Drew should have brought any complaints to the head medic (AKA him). She knew that and yet she had tried to go around it.

Will pulled his knees up to his chest.

“That doesn’t change that I’m an insensitive jerk. Nico didn’t get the idea of not belonging from nowhere but I went and told him that it’s all in his head. No wonder he avoided me for days.”

“Then apologize”, Cecil said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Will supposed it was.

* * *

Nico woke to light in his eyes. That annoying lamp had been left shining on him all night. Okay, so having the light did make him feel more solid and grounded. It was just that waking up to it right in his eyes was not pleasant (he really wasn’t making a good argument against Hades kids not being vampires). Nico groaned and slowly sat up.

“You’re awake.”

Jason was sitting next to him with a book in his lap. Nico stared at him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Visiting, of course. I was going to eat lunch with you but that was like an hour ago.”

“Oh.”

Nico half-expected Will to suddenly appear with enough food for both the meals he’d managed to sleep through. Instead Kayla showed up sans food.

“I thought I heard you.”

“Where’s Will?” Was the only thing Nico could think to say.

Kayla pointed to the front of the infirmary. Will was sitting on a stool with his head pressed down on the counter, clearly out cold. One of the younger Apollo kids was trying to give him a pillow without waking him up.

“He’s overworked.”

Nico hadn’t really thought about it before but now he wondered when Will last got a break. The son of Apollo had delivered baby Chuck, almost immediately went on a scouting and sabotage mission, took part in the battle, and then spent the past few days healing everyone. No wonder he was out cold.

“Maybe he’s the one that should be on bedrest.”

Kayla smirked. “There are very few people that’d be able to convince him of that.”

“Chiron?” Jason suggested.  

“Yeah, Chiron. And maybe…”, she trailed off, “Nico, you’re probably starving. I’ll go grab you some food. Any requests?”  

Nico shook his head. Kayla shrugged and walked off.

Jason looked at him like he knew a secret. “So Will, huh?”

Nico glared but the heat on his cheeks lessened the effect.

“Don’t start.”

* * *

Will was still groggy as he gathered ointment and gauze. He couldn’t believe that his siblings let him sleep so long. There was so much he needed to do.

Well, his siblings had already taken care of all the basic duties: laundry, re-stocking their supplies, taking care of the usual minor injuries campers came in for, making cabin-calls to check on patients that weren’t serious enough to need to stay in the infirmary, and looking after the needs of those that were.

Okay so that really just left Will with needing to check the progress of the most serious cases. The first on his list was Nico. As Will walked over, the son of Hades was reading in one of the books Annabeth had lent him. Nico then noticed his approach and set the book aside.

“I could hear you snoring all the way back here, Solace.”

Will started to reply but paused. How could he bicker with Nico when he owed an apology?

“I’m going to check how your wounds are healing.”

Will reached for Nico’s arm but then remembered his outburst from the previous night. It wasn’t the first time Nico had shown discomfort with physical contact. Before Nico had almost collapsed in the middle of a fight so – despite Nico’s protests – there wasn’t much of a choice.

“May I?”

Nico raised an eyebrow before holding out his arm. Will began to unwrap the bandages. The skin was still red and irritated but, after getting just a night of proper attention, it seemed to be healing nicely.

“How does it feel? I know you have an insanely high pain tolerance but be honest.”

Nico answered in monotone, “Sore, itchy, and it burns a little.”

Will nodded and put more ointment on the wounds. He considered blurting out his apology then and there but Nico was very…private. Will wasn’t sure if he’d want to iron this out where the entire infirmary could overhear.

In the end, Will left that evening without apologizing. He planned to but he’d need to get Nico somewhere with fewer potential eavesdroppers. He’d find a way tomorrow.

* * *

Nico wondered if he did something wrong. Will had been acting different around him; like he was walking on eggshells. Maybe the son of Apollo finally had a chance to really think about how Nico had handled the Octavian situation?

Nico rolled over, trying to hide from the lamp still shining on him. He didn’t feel in danger of fading anymore. The desire of hide in the shadows was starting to come back. Or maybe it was just because the light felt more like a judging glare now.

He’d killed Octavian through deliberate inaction, possibly triggering Leo’s death too. He had murdered Bryce Lawrence. It was a very deliberate, cold-blooded murder. Nico had blood on his hands. Death was like a shroud that constantly hung over him.

Wait.

Nico sat up. He could sense an actual shroud of death hovering around the cot directly across from his.

Without making a conscious decision, Nico swung his feet off the bed and hurried over the Apollo kid on shift. The girl – Nico had seen her around but hadn’t caught her name – was flipping through a magazine.

“You need to check on the guy across from me.”

Apparently she hadn’t noticed Nico until he spoke because she jumped.

“W-what?”

“There is a very thick possibility of death around him.”

Her eyes got very wide. A half-second later she was rushing over to check on the Ares boy. Unsure of what to do, Nico followed and watched as she checked his temperature and heartrate. Her frown deepened as she muttered lowly.

“This is out of my skill set…” She turned to Nico then. “I probably shouldn’t ask a patient but go get Will.”

Nico nodded and ran out the door. The night air seemed to greet him. The patrolling harpies paid him no mind, perhaps because he was rushing from the infirmary. Then again Nico had always come and gone at night as he pleased without their inference.

When he reached Cabin 7, he knocked loudly on the door until he heard stirring from within. Muffled voices drifted outside.

“This better be an emergency or I’m cursing whoever’s out there to speak in rhyme.” That sounded like a very grumpy Austin.

A few moments later the door opened to reveal a blurry eyed Will in pajamas.

“Nico? What are you-?”

“There’s an emergency. You’re needed in the infirmary.”

“No cursing him, Austin”, someone said.

Like a switch had been flipped on, Will was suddenly much more alert. Nico explained what little he knew of the situation as they hurried back.

When they arrived, Will’s sister had the Ares boy hooked up to an IV and immediately started spouting off some medical terms Nico didn’t understand. Will took the information in as he threw scrubs over his pajamas. Then he took charge, instructing his sister to administer certain medicines while he sang a hymn of healing.  

Nico went back to his cot and sat down so that he was out of the way. He kept watching the two children of Apollo work to save the Ares boy’s life. He’d seen glimpses of healing hymns during the Battle of Manhattan but had been too busy fighting to pay much attention. However, Nico could give it his complete attention now.

Will’s voice and hands were literally staving death off like the sun evaporating thick morning fog. If someone asked Nico right then and there who the most powerful demigod was, he would say to forget the children of the Big Three and the Seven. The answer was Will Solace.  

Eventually the condition of the Ares boy stabilized. Will’s hymn singing quietened. He exchanged a few low murmurs with his sister before turning to Nico. His face was unusually pale but his smile was as bright as ever. Will walked over and practically collapsed in the chair next to Nico’s cot.

“You saved his life, Death boy.”

Him, the son of Hades, saving a life? In a way that didn’t involving killing any monsters? That…made even less sense than his face being friendly. So Nico told him so.

“Me? You’re the one that did all the healing.”

“If you hadn’t warned us when you did, we wouldn’t have realized the infection got into his bloodstream in time.”

The infirmary was silent but for a few snores. Anyone that might have been woken up by the commotion had already fallen back to sleep. Will was staring at Nico like he wanted to say something.

“Nico.” Will took a breath. “When you said you wanted to leave camp, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Not like that. Not by brushing aside all the ostracism you faced. I was a jerk and insensitive. I’m sorry. If you want nothing to do with me after you’re discharged, then I get it.”

Nico felt stunned. This was why Will had been acting weird all day? And he thought Nico wouldn’t want to be around him? That was kind of absurd.

“I was never mad at you for yelling at me like that. Annoyed but not mad…I needed to hear it. That there would be people who’d miss me if I left. After Hazel, Jason, and Reyna…I should have known that but it didn’t really click until you yelled at me. And now I know there’re more people who’d miss me than I ever thought possible.”  

“Oh.” A blush was spreading all the way to Will’s ears. “I’m glad me being a jerk helped you?”

Nico cracked a small smile but it quickly faded. Nico glanced down at his hands before looking back at Will. If they were going to have some deep conversation, then he should probably bring that up.

“Octavian.”

Will gave him a curious look. “What about him?”

“I choose to let him die. I thought you’d hate me for that.”

The son of Apollo was silent for a few minutes, mulling over what to say. Nico fidgeted as he waited.

“I’m a healer, not an absolute pacifist”, Will finally answered, “I could have tried harder to stop him but choose not to. That Roman guy made the same choice. Octavian’s death is on all three of us.”    

“I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“Because you try to take on everything by yourself.”

“Your guilt about being a jerk didn’t last long.”

“Just calling it how I see it.”

“Then I’m calling you a hypocrite. When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”

“Um…” A pensive expression passed across Will’s face. “…The night before Mellie went into labor?”

“Ipocrita.”

They stared at each other a moment. Will then burst into laughter. He covered his mouth to muffle the noise and ended up doubled over with his head pressed against the cot. Nico’s lips twitched at how silly he looked.  

“You’re cute when you speak Italian, Death boy.”

And then Nico was blushing.

“You’re delirious. Go get some sleep, Solace.”

“Too tired to move.”

Nico rolled his eyes. Will yawned, which made Nico yawn. He might have been on bedrest the past two days (with one more to go) but after all that he felt exhausted. Maybe his exhaustion was why Nico didn’t care that Will was still using his cot as a pillow. Or maybe it was just Will’s very persuasive face. Either way Nico scooted down into the covers and closed his eyes.

* * *

“Should we wake them up?”

“Let’s not.”

“So how long do you think until they’re dating?”  

“Drew already started a betting pool.”


End file.
